Scoliopus bigelovii

Scoliopus bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by several common names, including California fetid adderstongue, Bigelow's adderstongue, slinkpod, and brownies. It is native to California, where it is known from San Luis Obispo County, parts of the San Francisco Bay Area and North Coast Ranges. It has also been collected just over the border in Oregon.[1][2] It occurs in old-growth forest in the understory of redwoods. It grows in mossy, moist places, often in shade.

California fetid adderstongue
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Genus: Scoliopus
Species:
S. bigelovii
Binomial name
Scoliopus bigelovii

This perennial herb, one of two species of Scoliopus, grows from a rhizome and a small section of underground stem. The above-ground parts include two large leaves each up to 24 cm × 10 cm (9.4 in × 3.9 in). There are sometimes 3 or 4 leaves. They have several longitudinal veins and are green with darker green or purplish mottling. The inflorescence is actually an umbel of flowers, but the peduncle is mostly underground with 3 to 12 flower-bearing pedicels rising above the surface, appearing separate. The flower has three flat, spreading, pointed oval or lance-shaped sepals and three narrower, linear or fingerlike petals. The sepals are pale or greenish and striped or streaked with dark purple. The flower has a disagreeable scent. The three short stamens are located at the bases of the sepals. The style has three long, often curving branches. The fruit is a capsule. As it matures, the pedicel that bears it twists or droops down to bring it in contact with the substrate.[3]

The flower is pollinated by fungus gnats of the genera Mycetophilla, Sciara, and Corynoptera.[2] Seeds are dispersed by ants, including Formica fusca, Formica rufibaris, and Aphaenogaster subterranea.[2]

References
  1. Biota of North America Program
  2. BLM: S. bigelovii Archived July 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Torrey, John. 1857. Reports of explorations and surveys : to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the direction of the Secretary of War 4(5): 145, pl. 22. 1857
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